No Wonder David Cameron loves the BBC - they present him as a champion in a country where he's an also ran.

"I'm probably the most pro BBC Conservative leader there's ever been," David Cameron told the Radio Times this week.

No wonder he loves his auntie.  She is  giving him access to millions of voters in Scotland this week on the televised leaders debate, a country where he is, (to use a cliche levelled at the Nats)  an irrelevance. The Conservatives have one Westminster MP in Scotland. After 1997 they had none at all. They are never likely even to be part of a coalition government in Holyrood.  If they are returned to Westminster next week, many will say they have no mandate north of Berwick. Yet the BBC are in the Court of Session this week arguing that Mr Cameron deserves a place in a leaders debate shown in Scotland, when the First Minister of the country, Alex Salmond, does not. And let's remember that while the SNP have funded their case with donations, the BBC is using tax-payers' money.

Even commentators normally unsympathetic to the nationalist cause believe this unfair. Read Magnus Linklater in the Times, who suggests the BBC just doesn't understand how devolution has changed the political structure of the UK.  Alex Massie, The Spectator's excellent and prolific blogger, believes there is a good case for a fourth debate featuring Salmond beside the UK party leaders. He says the Scottish offerings "are hardly Champions League" Ouch.  

In the meantime, the online campaign #scotlandspeaks is really building momentum. Go to Bella Caledonia for the latest statistics on a movement that is now trending on twitter and had achieved around 380,000 page impressions by Monday of this week. Start using the tag and make Scotland's voice heard.

ADD: Holyrood Patter has blogged on this and suggests Channel Four might be able to help

Comments

[Bingbongbilly]

David Cameron - for some reason - gets an easy ride from the British media. Not once have we seen the photograph of him in his Bullingdon Club days appear in the press.

[Hamish Scott]

Further confirmation that Scottish democracy is not safe in British hands.

[joe kane]

During the 1995 Scottish Election, Scottish Judges banned a BBC Panorama tv broadcast of an interview with Tory Leader and Prime Minster, John Major.

Even the Controller of BBC Scotland admitted it was wrong to broadcast such programmes at such a time, calling it 'unfair' -

Scots judge bans Major interview
Independent
04 Apr 1995
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/scots-judge-bans-major-interview-1614120.html

`Panorama'with Major was a mistake, says BBC Scotland chief
Independent on Sunday
09 Apr 1995
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/panoramawith-major-was-a-mistake-says-bbc-scotland-chief-1614858.html

The Lib Dem leader is claiming the SNP are trying to erect an 'electronic barrier' round Scotland, despite the fact it was the Lib Dems and Labour, not the SNP, who erected one themselves in 1995 -

Nick Clegg attacks Alex Salmond over election debate legal action
Telegraph
26 Apr 2010
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7635174/Nick-Clegg-attacks-Alex-Salmond-over-election-debate-legal-action.html

all the best GLG

[Jo]

My maint point in defending the SNP's right to be in this debate is the fact that they send MPs to Westminster. They field candidates here for Westminster elections and they are a major player in Scottish Politics. It has nothing to do with devolution - we vote for SNP candidates on reserved matters too - so the argument of the others just doesn't hold up. Shocking tho to see this unfold. We all knew about the bias within BBC Scotland but how sickening is it to see it being applied even to a situation as important as this where they are denying not just the SNP but all of Scotland the right to a balanced debate. More sickening still is hearing Labour, the Conservatives and the Lib-Dems backing such a position.